The Temptations of a Time-Turness

By Falling Skywards

Chapter 1: Addiction

Authors Notes: So, I think I'm finally back... Back to haunting your nightmares with horrible fanfiction that is! Mwahaha! Oh, and please review, subscribe, favourite, the works. Also, I may get back the 'The Hokage's Exodus', someday. But only if you're all very good.

XXXXXX

Hermione Granger had an addiction.

It was not necessarily a bad one, actually. She had grown up with it, and seeing as she had done fairly well in life so far, there was no reason for her to see that changing any time soon. No, in fact she sought out to satisfy that addiction, to fulfil her cravings, to satisfy her insatiable need.

An addiction to what, however?

Hermione Granger had an addiction to learning, to knowledge, to using her knowledge to become one of the greatest witches of all time.

Clearly, and she knew this, this was an addiction that nobody could claim as being negative, as knowledge, in the sense of book-smarts, is almost always beneficial.

However, the means that one may use to satisfy an addiction, regardless of the best intentions, may not be as... socially acceptable.

XXXXXX

It was soon to be the third year of Hermione Granger's time at Hogwarts, and she was looking forward to flaunting her genius this year.

She had a tool that no other student had, a gift that would allow her to show up other students, to complete more work than any one person should ever be forced to suffer.

That gift was a time-turner, and she had received it to supplement her multiple course choices, allowing her to gain a few extra hours each day. By simply winding the time-turner's hands back a few degrees, she could happily go back a few hours, head to an extra class and continue to stimulate her mind. Seeing as the Time-Turner look quite similar to a clock, Hermione found it easy to speculate that one full turn would send her back 24 hours.

However, she had been made to promise to the Headmaster, Dumbledore, that she would only use it as much was absolutely necessary, a promise that she did not happily make. And why should she like that? She had always been an information junkie; the prospect of almost infinite knowledge at her fingertips was so tantalising, so promising that it was only her fear of rules that kept her in line.

All those hours that could've been spent in the library... she often shuddered in pleasure at the fantasy.

However, school was right on the horizon, and soon she would be taught again! Books were hardly stimulus for her mind, once she had read them, she had to search and hunt for more. She much preferred the Greek teaching method, simply to have teachers. And sadly, due to her muggle-born status, it was near impossible to get a tutor, as her parents hardly had the money to afford one, let alone the exchange rate and cost of going to Diagon Alley.

So, for now, she was stuck simply sinking her teeth into books, sucking out the inherent knowledge until she was satisfied.

The year hadn't even started, yet she was already on the verge of being able to pass each of her subjects, simply through the amount of time she devoted to her study, even during her families trip to the beautiful country of France. That was not to say that she would excel, just yet. But that was merely a month or two away, and with her time-turner, alongside the fun she always managed to have at school, the time would fly by.

XXXXXX

"Harry! Oh, Harry, how has your summer been?" exclaimed Hermione, delving into a comfortable conversation with The-Boy-Who-Lived.

Around the two stood the damp, dark walls of the leaky cauldron, contrasting the cheerful and boisterous atmosphere that could be felt from the other patrons. This was only boosted by the fact that there was a celebrity amongst them, although they were rapidly getting used to that.

Hermione was as joyous as the drunken men around her seemed, having finally met up with her best friend, Harry, who had apparently been staying in Diagon Alley for the past few weeks. Although he was unwilling to say why, becoming shifty when the subject was brought up. Thankfully, Hermione was the type who would allow her friends their privacy, and moved the conversation onto other topics.

"...I take it that you've heard about Black then, Hermione?" asked Harry, attempting to fill a lull in conversation with something topical, although frightening.

"Uh... yes, I have Harry, and I'm rather worried for you. I hope you've been studying up on Defence Against the Dark Arts, just in case!" Hermione had to admit, after reading about Sirius Black in the Daily Prophet, which she subscribed to, she had been immediately worried. Initially, she had planned to do some research on the man, but had been distracted by more interesting books.

Harry shifted in his seat, as long fingers belonging to him began to drum, gently, against the cheap, wooden table that they sat in front of.

"To be honest, I've done nothing at all. I've spent the time just goofing around, really. Oh, and spending time with the Weasley family whenever they've floo'd in.

Hermione scowled, finding it absurd that Harry could be so lazy, especially when there were two mass-murderers after him, despite one of them not having a body to use.

"Well, once we get on the train I'll start explaining the year's work, alright?"

"Do we have to?" Harry whined, not looking forward to being taught any time before it was necessary.

Hermione's eyes turned to stone as she inhaled deeply, the bushy haired girl exuding an aura of violence towards her green-eyed friend.

"Alright, alright! " Harry exclaimed, not wanting to anger his knowledge-loving friend so soon. He also knew, from experiences with his Aunt, that women tended to get very violent in situations like this. Frankly, it scared him.

Smiling, she nodded and continued the conversation, happy to fall into a natural banter with her best friend, glad that he was at least somewhat willing to learn with her.

XXXXXX

Hermione smiled as she and Harry strolled out of The Leaky Cauldron, now intending to do her shopping and meet up with the third member of their trio, Ron Weasley.

The pair happily traversed the old, brick pathway, shoulders swerving sideways to avoid the other inhabitants of this busy area.

"I promised Ron that we would meet him at Flourish and Blotts, is that alright?" Was the question from the dark-haired boy, as he walked with countless eyes following him and his world-renowned scar.

"Oh, Harry, you know exactly what to say to a girl like me," responded Teasing Hermione, giggling as she saw the poor boy blush.

Harry was thirteen now, and he had been...'thinking' about girls for over a year now. Hermione was a target of those thoughts, both for her proximity and personality. And who could blame him for having a crush on a girl like that? Those eyes of hers were lovely, as he so often thought.

Hermione, however, had no question that Harry hadn't given her looks so much as a second thought in his entire life, much to the genius Granger's anguish. Sadly, it was a mistake as rare as this that caused her to have such little faith in herself; bullying at school prior to the magical world had also reinforced this image to the bookworm of a girl.

Now arriving at the book store, Hermione happily lost herself into a novel on time-turners, while she directed Harry towards a wonderful book she had read, 'An Intermediate's Guide to Duelling and Defence'; she hoped that it would excite him down a learner's path as it had, last year, excited her to master shield and wall spells, which gave her some much needed peace of mind following her petrifaction.

However, the book she now held was far more interesting, far more useful to her in the following days. It was written by one 'H G Wells', a muggle that had stumbled onto the magical world, and explained the benefits, risks and paradoxes that could be created through the use of a time-turner, as well as the possibilities. Theoretically, it was possible to go back in time as far as you liked, as it was merely changing space. However, when that time came around again you would be much older and thus people would question you, making them suspicious.

Hermione continued to read, becoming steadily enraptured by this book that explained what she would soon be capable of, and her imagination began to run wild. A week spent in the library? The ability to visit her parents whenever she wanted? Never returning a book late? She giggled girlishly at this opportunity, until the thought came to mind, crushing her fantasy.

She had promised McGonagall that she would only use it for the classes that needed it, nothing else.

Sighing, she returned to the book, now slightly less enthused as she waited for Ron.

Harry, simultaneously, was finding the book that Hermione had pointed him towards very interesting, which was odd considering that he usually despised book-reading. Well, the books that he had read... which were always books either forced upon him by school, or...

When had he ever chosen to read a book? School books didn't count, as those were forced upon him, and simply the nature of why he was reading them turned him off, as well as Ron's idea that reading books was a waste of time. The Dursleys HAD often stopped him from reading fiction, unless they could see that he couldn't survive in school without the book. So, as he thought about it, he realised that besides from perhaps one or two at Hogwarts, he had never read a book by choice.

Oh well. He had gone this far without them and he was fine, wasn't he? He got acceptable, sometimes above average, sometimes excellent grades at school. But that was only for things like exams where he actually tried. During the year he wasn't anything exceptional, nothing like Hermione. Was it important?

And then it came crashing down on him that perhaps it was, that the two years he had survived against Voldemort, and weakened forms of him, it had been mainly by luck and other people's assistance that he had survived. And now that he had a serial killer after him, it was even more essential that he learnt! Perhaps, this year, he would strive to learn with Hermione, but only if –

"Harry! Hermione!"

Both named magicals looked up from their books, smiling to see their friend, Ron Weasley, having finally arrived. Returning the brilliant books to their shelves, Hermione and Harry, whom had lost his train of thought, ran over and embraced the third member of their trio, glad to see the red head.

XXXXXX

After purchasing Ron's second hand books and some food for Scabbers, the trio made their way, slowly, enjoying one another's company, to the room that Harry had rented. Harry chuckled as Ron's tired body slumped onto the bed, and Hermione and he made their way to the small, wooden chairs that were the room's only furniture. Smiling, Hermione tipped her chair back against the wall, content to listen to her male friends' banter; talking of Quidditch, of Wizards Chess, of school and all things that males talk about that are meaningless.

That was, until Ron asked a stupid question, as he was wont to do.

"So, Harry, what's got you holed up in this dump? Don't you have to stay with the Dursleys over the summer? Seeing as they are family and all, isn't there that... guardianship thing?"

Hermione was hoping that Harry would either answer or his uncomfortable appearance would ward off Ron's probing.

With her eyes closed, hearing silence, she assumed that Harry was uncomfortable yet again and tried to save her famous friend.

"So, Harry, any idea who this year's new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher will be?"

Opening her eyes, she could noticeably see Harry loosen up at the question, thankful to be saved by his friend.

"Well, I sure hope it isn't Snape, the old git would –"

"Bloody hell Hermione; don't go interrupting me and Harry! Learn some social manners, girl," rudely interrupted Ron, unaware of how idiotic and ironic his statement was.

"Excuse me, Ronald, but I could clearly—"

"Hermione, it's okay, I guess I should let you guys know what happened," interrupted Harry, not wanting the tension in the room to escalate any further. "Well, my 'Aunt' Marge was over, and, well... she made me angry, so I accidently used magic to turn her into a... well, sort of a balloon. I was sure that the ministry was going to expel me but thankfully –"

For the third time, someone in the room was interrupted. This time, it was by Ron's laughing at his friend's antics, despite the worry that was clearly written on Harry's face.

"Ron! That isn't funny! Can't you see that this is not something that Harry's proud of?!"

"But it's brillian'! It's absolutely, stark raving brillian'! How can this not be funny to you, Hermione?"

Appalled by Ron's complete lack of tact, as well as his inability to understand the possible magnitude of the situation, coupled with a desire to protect Harry, one that was strangely desperate, she then stood up and made her way out of the room, following promising that she would "See them in two days for school".

The boys in the room were left in shocked silence, and Harry felt extremely torn. Feeling as though a huge part of him was suddenly missing, he decided to call it a night.

"Blimey... what's her problem mate?" questioned the clueless Red-head, following the cliché that was his character.

"You know what Ron? I'm quite tired, I think I'll call it a day," responded Harry through gritted teeth, suddenly feeling actual pain, which confused him. Despite his attempts he couldn't quite place the pain, but it felt like his stomach or heart.

Confused at his friend's sudden change in actions Ron simply nodded and left, going off to Floo back to The Burrow.

XXXXXX

That night, while tossing and turning in his bed, Harry's body jerked and shuddered in pain that he couldn't explain, but to attribute his physical pain to the turmoil in his group of friends.

Thankfully, the next morning, he was all better and blaming it on bad food, or the likes.

XXXXXX

The first day of school finally arrived, and the trio of Gryffindor's arrived at Platform Nine and Three Quarters with smiles on their young faces, both Ron and Hermione excited to see Harry.

With a sad smile, Hermione embraced her parents outside the magical wall, not looking forward to spending even more time away from heradored mother and father, whom she loved dearly. They had always supported her, and were amazing when it came to allowing her stay in the clearly and absurdly dangerous school that was Hogwarts.

As she turned to leave, Hermione noticed, out of the corner of her eye, a large group of red-heads making their way towards her. Remembering her encounter with the abrasive Ron only a few days earlier and was yet to gain any form of closure with him; so, not wishing to bother with him, she made her way quickly through the gate, into the wonderful wizarding world.

Her senses were suddenly ablaze; freshly evaporated steam, a smell that soon permeated her nose as she smiled and peered onto a sight that she always loved, one that she fantasised about seeing throughout the entire summer: the busy crowd of students, congregating with their parents towards the train, miserable and exciting like the departure gate of an airport.

Her school robes flowing behind her, Hermione began searching for her best friend, Harry, which turned out to be a fairly simple task, just follow the hushed whispers of first years, seeing the fabled boy-who-lived for the first time.

It always helped that when searching for a celebrity you were never alone.

"Hermione! Over here!" Came a cry from behind her, Harry's voice recognizable enough above the tumultuous noise of the other students.

Smiling, Hermione turned around and embraced Harry, happy to see him again.

"Have you been studying these past few days?" She questioned, hopeful that the book had inspired him.

Much to her delight, he nodded in reply.

"Yup! I've learnt a few spells, at least in theory, and we can go over them with each otheron the train, just so that you can give me a few pointers, alright?"

"Well, what are we waiting for then?" Hermione was thrilled, and proceeded to drag him onto the train, much to his surprise.

The two passed a few full, lively compartments filled with first years. Inside the compartments they couldn't help but stare at the most famous teenager in the wizarding world, and feel jealousy over the girl who seemed to drag him with that feral grin.

As they passed compartments filled with older females, they couldn't help but to speculate at why the two were alone and grinning so much, theories of a couple sparking up as absurd rumours often did. This 'factual' news soon passed around the compartments, and soon the entire train was abuzz with the new romantic pairing, much to the jealousy of more than a few fame-hungry women.

Harry and Hermione, however, soon sat down in the first compartment available, to hell with the stranger that was asleep inside, and Hermione demanded that he show her what he could do.

"I'm not sure if I can do any of these yet, you know," responded Harry to her mental prodding, "And we should keep it down! The old guy's sleeping..."

Hermione looked at him properly for the first time, taking in the strange, rough, unshaven man who was clearly not a member of the student body. Gazing up at the man's open suitcase, she noted the piles of books, specifically the textbook that third years were covering this year in Defence Against the Dark Arts.

"Ah! He must be our new DADA teacher, seeing as Professor Lockhart was a fraud. I hope he's not as useless as the last two..." spoke Hermione out of realisation.

Well, he looks a bit rough and haggard, she thought. Probably be an... interesting teacher.

"Oh, in that case, maybe he wouldn't mind if we practiced. Seeing as it would be his subject and all," hoped Harry.

Receiving a nod from the bushy mess of hair that was his brilliant friend, Harry then flicked his wand in an arc and muttered 'Protego' putting a fair amount of mental energy behind it.

To his happy surprise a small, silver bubble of energy began to form on the tip of his wand, before it popped, loudly.

"Ah, if I may," came a voice from behind Harry, that startled him, "but your wand movement needs to be slowed. Now, try it again."

A little surprised at the new Defence teacher,s sudden suggestion, Harry attempted to follow this instruction, once again speaking the words 'Protego'. However, he was this time rewarded by a small bubble that lasted approximately twenty seconds before fizzling out.

"Well done, young man! That is a very tricky spell to pull off, and many ministry officials are incapable. I must admit, I am quite impressed Mr...?"

"Potter, sir. Harry Potter."

The teacher's eyes widened at hearing the name, finally looking into Harry's face.

"Oh my," he began, "well, I must say it is an honour. My name is Remus Lupin, and I will be teaching you this year, as you sadly require yet another teacher in that role. And your name is...?" Lupin directed at Hermione, not wishing to be rude.

"Hermione Granger, Professor Lupin. I'm one of Harry's friends, and I'm very excited to learn from you this year!" Came the knowledge addict's reply.

Lupin recognized the name, and upon closer inspection, noticed the silver necklace around her neck, clearly showing her to be the time-turner girl.

"Ah, Miss Granger, it is an honour. And what a lovely necklace you are wearing today," he said with a wink, causing her to blush.

Harry, oblivious to the gift that Hermione had been given, merely assumed that Lupin was complementing his friend out of politeness.

"Now, Mr Potter, if you wouldn't mind going over that spell one more time? To truly master it, you must be able to hold it for at least a minute. You too, Miss Granger."

Lupin had been rather excited to teach this year, and was over the moon at teaching his former best friends' son so soon, as well as the Granger girl who, if what the other teachers had said was true, was something of a genius amongst her peers.

XXXXXX

Ron Weasley had spent a fair bit of time searching for Harry, but sadly that damned Granger had gone and taken him all to herself. What'd he ever do to her? She was just being a typical, stupid female; he didn't expect any better of her.

So he'd just sit on the train with Neville, Dean, the usual Gryffindor students. It wasn't so bad, but he had never particularly enjoyed spending time with them. Harry was the only person he was really interested in, and Hermione because he had to have some female company. Still, they weren't bad blokes these guys, all of them happy to just lazily sit and chat as they watched the scenery pass by.

He'd sort things out with Hermione at school, everything would be back to normal then.

XXXXXX

Hermione was absolutely loving the train ride with her new teacher; it seemed to both show Harry the benefits of learning, and was developing her skills as a witch! And what more could she want than to spend time with her best friend while doing something that she, and hopefully he too, loved doing: learning!

They had finished working on the Protego spell for now, and were covering spells such as Expelliarmus, and other basic spells. Lupin had also explained to them what he planned to cover this year, specifically dark, magical creatures and how best to deal with them. To her, it honestly sounded like a wonderful time, as she had, to date, learnt nothing on the subject.

Now that she thought about it, she couldn't help but cringe at her inability to read 'The Monster Book of Monsters', being the only course of the year that she had not touched upon.

Ah well, she was comfortable to sit in the same ignorance in a single subject, putting her in the same boat as everyone else.

Suddenly, the train came to a halt.

"We certainly can't be there yet," exclaimed the Professor, looking bewildered.

As Hermione gazed outside at the scenery, she noticed that they were in the middle of nowhere, and that dark clouds seemed to be forming overhead.

"I think I'll go speak to the driver..." pondered Lupin, now making his way out of the compartment, wand drawn.

Harry and Hermione merely looked at one another, suddenly feeling cold and clammy, as though the world's happiness had been horribly drained by some unknown force.

Gazing out the window once more, Harry and she noticed a few shadowy figures making their way onto the train. Suddenly, the world felt even worse.

Scared, completely unaware of what these dark creatures were, Hermione soon found her arm clamped tightly around Harry's.

Her breath was becoming visible, the room growing cold, the windows beginning to frost, Hermione unable to stop her teeth from chattering due to the sudden change in climate.

"Harry... W-What's going on?" Hermione questioned, internally pleading that her friend would somehow know more than she.

Harry was unable to respond, as he could suddenly see horrific images that had plagued his nightmares since he was a baby. In his mind, he could see his mother pleading, begging Voldemort to let a small baby live, he could see her die!

Hermione, on the other hand, saw the dark creature that had entered their carriage and was frozen in fear. As it began to descend on harry, she attempted to distract it by throwing hexes, only to find that they passed right through the horrible creatures shadowy body.

'Think, Hermione! That's what you're good at, how on earth are you going to get out of this situation if you don't think?! If only Lupin was here,' she thought to herself, before having a sudden, joyous epiphany.

The bushy haired girl stood, braced herself, and dove straight through the creature, spinning back the larger hand on her time-turner by a single minute, coming out the other side to a slightly warmer climate.

Getting to her feet she began to rush towards where she assumed Professor Lupin had gone, hoping to catch him and warn him of Harry's danger in the future.

Due to the perilous nature of the situation she had no time to recognize that she, Hermione Granger, had just travelled through time.

Racing through carriages, making her way towards the head of the train she finally spotted the Professor and cried after him.

"Professor Lupin, you must come now! Harry will be in danger from those creatures if you don't help him!"

Lupin, trusting the girl who had shown herself to be bright, turned and ran after her, making his way in his tatty clothing to where he had previously spent time with his new students.

The two arrived just in time to see Hermione dive through the creature and disappear, impressing Lupin. But, with no time to applaud the quick thinking of the girl, Lupin raised his long wand and screamed "Expecto Patronum!" at the creature, followed by a rapid, white spectre leaving his wand and charging into the happiness sucking demon, saving poor Harry.

Hermione broke into tears out of sheer relief.

XXXXXX

Cold and shivering, Harry slowly opened his eyes to see a beautiful, albeit slightly odd looking girl staring down at him, holding what seemed to be a bar of chocolate in her hand. Gazing into her big, smiling eyes he couldn't help but question if the creature had killed him and sent him off to heaven.

"W-Where am... I?" He asked hoarsely, his throat dry after such a horrible ordeal, his back dripping with sweat excreted out of fear and effort to simply stay alive.

"Why, where are any of us?" The pretty blonde girl replied, dreamily, her voice thick with Irish overtones.

Harry had no choice but to blink, and he happily accepted the bar of chocolate that she handed him, her eyes commanding him to eat.

"Quickly now, we don't want shock to set in. Chocolate has a way of brightening the world around you, something the Dementors just cannot stand."

Harry stayed silent, simply biting into the delicious bar and looking around, finally noticing both his best friend, Hermione, and his new teacher, Professor Lupin. Well, those two and a rather large crowd, all were crowding around the fallen body of the school's celebrity.

"Uh, hey Hermione, what happened?" Harry questioned, worried about the redness around her eyes that indicated she had been crying.

"Oh Harry, the Dementors tried to 'kiss' you, something they do to suck out your soul... it was horrible..."

Harry was stunned into silence, realizing just how close he had come to death, and so early on in the year.

"She's quite right, Potter," began Lupin, "and if it weren't for your friend Hermione's quick thinking, I'm afraid you would've most probably been... lost."

Harry was simply able to smile at the girl, continuing to munch on the chocolate that the blonde was forcing towards his mouth.

"And Luna here, who is so kindly providing you with one of the medicines that help fight the presence of the Dementors, is someone you should also be grateful to. Somehow, she managed to wake you up from your deep slumber, one that has claimed the lives of many others."

"Oh, it was nothing at all, Professor. If one knows quite where to look, they will see just where to sing to one that is Partially Kissed. Why, I believe the Quibbler published a small guide on it only a year ago."

Harry could not help but to stare at the blonde, Luna, he believed was her name. She had been a welcome sight to wake up to, and it seemed she had saved his life, in part.

Hermione, who had been keeping her distance from what she prayed and hoped would not soon become a corpse, let go of herself once again and pounced on her poor friend, tears threatening to spill as she hugged his lanky body.

"Oh Harry, this is the second time that you've had me thinking you could have died! We're only thirteen you stupid boy... always getting yourself into unnecessary trouble... it's enough to make a girl go insane with worry!"

Harry couldn't help but to chuckle, somehow knowing that this would not be the last time that he heard his poor, suffering friend make a speech like this at his expense and simply hugged her back.

Lupin, sensing that the crowd was a little too curious, forced them to disperse and left Harry, Luna and Hermione alone in the compartment. He then began making his way to the front of the train, from which he intended to message Dumbledore, desperate to know how this boy who was so universally important could be put at risk.

XXXXXX

Finishing Notes: Well, thanks for reading! I expect to write a chapter every week or two, but seeing as it's nearly Christmas time, I may not get out as many until after the New Year.

Thanks again!